Finger-operable cots and pads for applying dentifrice to teeth and for massaging the gums have been known for many years. Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,343,713, 2,176,308 and 3,608,566. Generally these devices include a pad an area of which is coated or impregnated with dentifrice. The user rubs the coated or impregnated area of the pad over the teeth and gums to massage and clean them. The package described in the last-mentioned patent includes an envelope tearstring which can be used to clean between the teeth.
These prior devices have various disadvantages which have limited their use and effectiveness as promotors of oral health and hygiene. Most prior devices are designed primarily to remove food particles from the teeth and to refresh the breath, with little or no attention being paid in their design to the importance of proper periodontal massage and plaque removal to oral health. While brushing is recognized as an important and effective mechanism for plaque removal, few people take the time to brush after each meal during the day and most people limit their brushing activities to the early morning and perhaps also to the late evening before retiring. There thus are long periods of each day during which food particles are allowed to remain on and between the teeth and gums and during which harmful plaque is allowed to build up. Also, most dental practioners recognize that brushing has, at best, only a minimal benefit in periodontal stimulation. In fact, an increasing number of such practioners are finding that brushing can have a harmful effect in terms of tooth abrasion and gum irritation. Such practioners generally recommend periodontal massage as a supplement to brushing. Such massage increases blood circulation in, and exercises, the soft gum tissue, giving rise to stronger, healthier gums.
Some prior devices of the type mentioned above are also difficult to use. For example, the pad-type applicator disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 2,176,308 is difficult to grip with the fingers and to manipulate in the mouth because the dentifrice which is supposed to adhere the pad to the finger becomes diluted and dissolves upon contact with the saliva present in the mouth causing the pad to slip relative to the manipulating finger. Therefore, the user is usually required to grasp the pad between fingers in order to properly move it around within the mouth.
Further, in some cases the prior devices are quite large relative to the finger so that when manipulated within the mouth, the pads fold and become wrinkled making them difficult to control and so that dentifrice is not always in contact with the teeth as the pad is moved around within the mouth. As for those devices like the one disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,608,566 which are supplied in an envelope having a tearstring which may function as dental floss, the tearstring is associated with the envelope rather than the dentifrice applicator. Consequently, the floss is frequently lost or thrown away with the envelope.
Finally, none of the prior devices of this general type of which I am aware include as an integral part thereof a dental stimulator which can be used in conjunction with the dentifrice applicator and dental floss provided therewith to facilitate removing particles and plaque from between the teeth.